page_title: Rhode Island in the American Civil War
section_title: Politics
hierarchical_section_title: Rhode Island in the American Civil War / Notable leaders from Rhode Island / Politics
caption_attribution_description: William Sprague (1830-1915). Library of Congress description: "Hon. Wm. Sprague of R.I."
context_page_description: The state of Rhode Island during the American Civil War remained loyal to the Union, as did the other states of New England. Rhode Island furnished 25,236 fighting men to the Union Army, of which 1,685 died. The state used its industrial capacity to supply the Union Army with the materials needed to win the war. Rhode Island's continued growth and modernization led to the creation of an urban mass transit system and improved health and sanitation programs.
context_section_description: Senator Henry B. Anthony was born in Coventry, Rhode Island. He was a powerful newspaper owner and staunch advocate of the policies of President Lincoln during the Civil War. Rhode Island Senator Samuel G. Arnold of Providence was also a Republican; he served in the Union Army until 1862, when he was elected to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of James F. Simmons.
  Rhode Island Governor William Sprague IV accompanied troops in the First Battle of Bull Run on July 21, 1861, but he declined a commission as a brigadier general and remained in office.  In 1862, he attended the War Governors' Conference in Altoona, Pennsylvania which backed Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation and the Union war effort.  He was not re-elected as governor, but he was elected as a Senator to replace Arnold; he took office in 1863 and served into Reconstruction. William C. Cozzens became Governor in 1863; he was succeeded by James Y. Smith who led Rhode Island during the last two years of the war.
caption: Governor William Sprague
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